Periurbanism in the Casma State: Preliminary Observations from the Olivar Archaeological Complex

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Casma State Material Culture and Society: Organizing, Analyzing, and Interpreting Archaeological Evidence of a Re-emergent Ancient Polity" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Casma State played a major role in north-central coastal social and political developments in the Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period, circa AD 1000-1400. El Purgatorio served as the capital for much of that time, providing a central location for a dense population, intensive production activities, and collective rituals at a variety of scales. But El Purgatorio was no isolated urban center, it was the primary among many settlements lining virtually all segments of the rocky Andean foothills of both branches of the Casma Valley. So, what was the relationship of El Purgatorio to surrounding settlements? This paper provides preliminary observations and interpretations of site layout, architecture, and surface artifacts as seen from satellite imagery and informal, non-invasive pedestrian observation of the El Olivar Archaeological Complex. The Complex includes the sites of Tucushuaman, Cahuacucho, Templo Olivar, and Cerro Olivar. Drawing upon baseline models developed at El Purgatorio, the architecture, function, and probable occupation histories of these sites are hypothesized. The significance of these hypothetical conclusions for understanding Casma State formation, administration, and social life is proposed. And future methods for evaluating these hypotheses are presented.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Casma State Material Culture and Society: Organizing, Analyzing, and Interpreting Archaeological Evidence of a Re-emergent Ancient Polity   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24119